Bulls left-hander’s approach: Just pitch until they take the ball

Published: Sunday, May 18, 2014 at 12:54 AM.

DURHAM — After Mike Montgomery pitched eight strong innings of a game last week, he didn’t go back out for the ninth.

The Durham Bulls made a pitching change.

But this wasn’t a switch without a noteworthy component. It came a few outings after Montgomery was lifted with a no-hitter intact in the ninth inning because he reached a predetermined pitch count.

“I’m not mad about it,” Montgomery said. “It’s the game of baseball and that’s how that works. It’s about preservation for the future.

“… We’re here playing to get to the big leagues. It’s not about the Durham Bulls. It’s about preparing for the future.”

On the night of the third Class AAA no-hitter in Bulls team history, Montgomery gave way to Brad Boxberger, who’s now with the Tampa Bay Rays, to record the final two outs.

When manager Charlie Montoyo went to the mound, a chorus of boos spilled throughout the ballpark.

Montoyo said allowing Montgomery to throw to the first batter of the last inning was a chance for him to hear the cheers as he walked off the mound.

Instead, those were drowned out by boos.

“I get all that,” Montoyo said, understanding the reaction and knowing he’s obligated to follow instructions from the parent club. “If I’d known they were going to boo me like that, I wouldn’t (have let him start the inning).”

Montgomery, who gave up two hits in the eight-inning stint last week against the Charlotte Knights, is the scheduled starter for today’s game against the Louisville Bats. He holds a 4-1 record and 4.12 earned run average across eight starts. He has struck out 40 batters in 43 2/3 innings.

Even if he turns in another gem, it’s unlikely he’ll last the entire game.

Montgomery, a 6-foot-4 left-hander, was a first-round draft pick in 2008 by the Kansas City Royals (though he was never assigned to the Burlington Royals). He came to Tampa Bay in the trade that involved James Shields to Kansas City and Wil Myers to the Rays.

Montgomery’s assigned pitch count was at 105 for the combined no-hit outing against the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, though he exceeded it by one pitch.

“For Monty, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime game,” said Bulls pitcher Merrill Kelly, who had the task of pitching the next day for the Bulls. “If he was in the big leagues, he’s probably going to finish it.”

Montoyo said a nine-inning complete game is pretty much extinct for prospects.

“The way baseball is going right now, it’s hard to get a complete game in the minor leagues,” he said. “You’ve got pitch counts, that’s what it is.”

Montgomery threw 94 pitches against Charlotte.

Scranton / Wilkes-Barre’s Russ Canzler, a former Bull, prevented a perfect game with a second-inning walk in the April 26 contest.

“The way he was going, if he had thrown me a strike, he probably still would have the perfect game,” Canzler said.

In the bottom of the eighth, Canzler, playing as the first baseman, chatted with Bulls first-base coach Dave Myers, inquiring about what move the Bulls might or might not make.

“You have to appreciate what a guy does if he has a special moment like that,” Canzler said of Montgomery’s performance. “Poor Charlie got booed.”

Montgomery said it’s best to look beyond that moment. He said he doesn’t want that performance to define his season.

“For a couple of days, it was cool,” he said. “But it was April. I’ve still got five months of baseball to go.

“Building on it, really. I don’t want to just have this one thing.”

Montgomery, a 24-year-old left-hander, hadn’t thrown more than five innings in any previous game this season.

And he has endured a couple of challenging stints then. But after yielding a two-run homer in the first inning of his most-recent assignment, he put it back in cruise.

“After that first inning, I thought I did a good job just attacking early,” he said. “I think I went more offspeed early in the game.

“Then me and (catcher) Curt (Casali) saw we were getting early outs with the fastball. Let’s not waste pitches here, let’s just attack.”

Next thing you know, he was staring at a chance to go beyond eight innings.

So there was irony that he might have a chance to work a full ninth inning after being denied that just a couple of weeks earlier. The idea popped into his head.

“Exactly, I thought I had a chance” Montgomery said. “I was ready if they needed me to. It’s not up to me. They said no. I knew giving the ball to (reliever Jeff Beliveau), it was good. I could have gone out, I felt strong. But it worked out.

“I knew (the pitch count) was low. That’s one of my goals the last couple of outings. Let’s go deep into the game. You just go out there and throw as many as you can until they take you out.”

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DURHAM — After Mike Montgomery pitched eight strong innings of a game last week, he didn’t go back out for the ninth.

The Durham Bulls made a pitching change.

But this wasn’t a switch without a noteworthy component. It came a few outings after Montgomery was lifted with a no-hitter intact in the ninth inning because he reached a predetermined pitch count.

“I’m not mad about it,” Montgomery said. “It’s the game of baseball and that’s how that works. It’s about preservation for the future.

“… We’re here playing to get to the big leagues. It’s not about the Durham Bulls. It’s about preparing for the future.”

On the night of the third Class AAA no-hitter in Bulls team history, Montgomery gave way to Brad Boxberger, who’s now with the Tampa Bay Rays, to record the final two outs.

When manager Charlie Montoyo went to the mound, a chorus of boos spilled throughout the ballpark.

Montoyo said allowing Montgomery to throw to the first batter of the last inning was a chance for him to hear the cheers as he walked off the mound.

Instead, those were drowned out by boos.

“I get all that,” Montoyo said, understanding the reaction and knowing he’s obligated to follow instructions from the parent club. “If I’d known they were going to boo me like that, I wouldn’t (have let him start the inning).”

Montgomery, who gave up two hits in the eight-inning stint last week against the Charlotte Knights, is the scheduled starter for today’s game against the Louisville Bats. He holds a 4-1 record and 4.12 earned run average across eight starts. He has struck out 40 batters in 43 2/3 innings.

Even if he turns in another gem, it’s unlikely he’ll last the entire game.

Montgomery, a 6-foot-4 left-hander, was a first-round draft pick in 2008 by the Kansas City Royals (though he was never assigned to the Burlington Royals). He came to Tampa Bay in the trade that involved James Shields to Kansas City and Wil Myers to the Rays.

Montgomery’s assigned pitch count was at 105 for the combined no-hit outing against the Scranton / Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, though he exceeded it by one pitch.

“For Monty, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime game,” said Bulls pitcher Merrill Kelly, who had the task of pitching the next day for the Bulls. “If he was in the big leagues, he’s probably going to finish it.”

Montoyo said a nine-inning complete game is pretty much extinct for prospects.

“The way baseball is going right now, it’s hard to get a complete game in the minor leagues,” he said. “You’ve got pitch counts, that’s what it is.”

Montgomery threw 94 pitches against Charlotte.

Scranton / Wilkes-Barre’s Russ Canzler, a former Bull, prevented a perfect game with a second-inning walk in the April 26 contest.

“The way he was going, if he had thrown me a strike, he probably still would have the perfect game,” Canzler said.

In the bottom of the eighth, Canzler, playing as the first baseman, chatted with Bulls first-base coach Dave Myers, inquiring about what move the Bulls might or might not make.

“You have to appreciate what a guy does if he has a special moment like that,” Canzler said of Montgomery’s performance. “Poor Charlie got booed.”

Montgomery said it’s best to look beyond that moment. He said he doesn’t want that performance to define his season.

“For a couple of days, it was cool,” he said. “But it was April. I’ve still got five months of baseball to go.

“Building on it, really. I don’t want to just have this one thing.”

Montgomery, a 24-year-old left-hander, hadn’t thrown more than five innings in any previous game this season.

And he has endured a couple of challenging stints then. But after yielding a two-run homer in the first inning of his most-recent assignment, he put it back in cruise.

“After that first inning, I thought I did a good job just attacking early,” he said. “I think I went more offspeed early in the game.

“Then me and (catcher) Curt (Casali) saw we were getting early outs with the fastball. Let’s not waste pitches here, let’s just attack.”

Next thing you know, he was staring at a chance to go beyond eight innings.

So there was irony that he might have a chance to work a full ninth inning after being denied that just a couple of weeks earlier. The idea popped into his head.

“Exactly, I thought I had a chance” Montgomery said. “I was ready if they needed me to. It’s not up to me. They said no. I knew giving the ball to (reliever Jeff Beliveau), it was good. I could have gone out, I felt strong. But it worked out.

“I knew (the pitch count) was low. That’s one of my goals the last couple of outings. Let’s go deep into the game. You just go out there and throw as many as you can until they take you out.”